Optical Atlas

I’m going to be interviewing Robert Schneider of The Apples in Stereo for a write-up (not for Optical Atlas, but something the Apples will use) connected with the release of the new singles/rarities comp, Electronic Projects for Musicians. Since I am notoriously terrible with questions, and because it would be a more beautiful thing if more fans were involved, I’d like your questions to take to Robert, either concerning the new album and what’s on it, or questions pertaining to the Apples period the album covers (the “post-four-track era”). Or maybe inquiries about making your own “electronic projects.” You can send these to me at info@opticalatlas.com, or leave them in the comments of this post.

This is what Robert said in my earlier interview with him about the album:

“As for Electronic Projects for Musicians (which is named after a classic build-your-own-effects book by Craig Anderton which should be purchased by every one of your readers if they know what is good for them): the track listing is basically every single non-LP track, or LP bonus track, we have put out since Fun Trick Noisemaker, including seven inches, flexi-discs, comp tracks, etc. aside from the tracks featured on the SpinArt EPS such as Let’s Go and Look Away (these will be released on one record when the SpinArt license expires) – also it will not include the Powerpuff Girls song, the master of which is owned by The Cartoon Network, and is still in print… There is a song which we completed for Tone Soul Evolution, called ‘Dreams,’ which was left off the record because it was one of the strongest songs, and I was not happy with the mix. I will remix it for Electronic Projects.”

Questions? Fire away.

You Ain’t No Picasso has posted an MP3 of a new Casper & the Cookies Christmas song, “Kiss Me Beneath the Christmas Tree,” which has appeared on their MySpace page.  It’s a wonderful song, too!

Kindercore is now making available their new comp, XMas3: The War on Christmas, available for pre-order at their online store. Act fast, because only 100 CDs will be pressed. (This will be primarily a digital release.) Need we tell you that it features Folklore, 63 Crayons, Bunnygrunt, Venice is Sinking, Je Suis France, King of Prussia, and The Observatory (Bill Doss, Peter Erchick, and John Fernandes)? Grab it here.

Tracklist:
1. Rump Posse – Carol of the Manbarks
2. Folklore – Christmas Ape Goes to The Moon
3. The Observatory – Xmastime (is Xmastime)
4. Fabulous Bird – Everybody Knows It’s Christmas Time Again
5. King of Prussia – Christmas on The Other Side
6. The 63 Crayons – Holiday
7. Ruby Isle – Jack’s Obsession
8. The Buddy System – Xmas on TV
9. Blak Thor – Noel (I’m Giving Love For Christmas)
10. Murder Beach – All Around
11. Mumbletron 2k12 – Outta Bed
12. Je Suis France – Baby, Please Don’t Get Stoned (It’s Christmas)
13. Bunnygrunt – The Blues for Xmas
14. Koncak – It’s Christmas Time
15. Headlights – Kicker of Elves
16. The Show is The Rainbow – Silent Night
17. The Snowsuit Sound – The Ballad of Black Piet
18. Venice is Sinking – The Grey Line
19. The Jersey Barrier – Grey Skies

In other Kindercore-related news, Ruby Isle recently decided to do a cover of “whatever track was number one on elbo.ws.” That turned out to be “Shadow Falls” by Hello, Blue Roses. You can hear their cover of it here. Thanks to Dan for the link.

Tonight at 8pm EST Folklore will be playing on WUOG 90.5FM’s Live in the Lobby.  (The Athens radio program constantly hosts great local artists–it’s just that I don’t live in Athens, and people seldom tell me about it.)  Jimmy Hughes writes, “We will play some new stuff and also an original Christmas song that we wrote.”  (That’s right–Christmas.  Thanksgiving’s over, so get that Christmas tree up, put up your lights, and go shopping to help the economy.)  Oh, and if you don’t live in Athens, you should be pleased to know that you can stream the program at WUOG’s website.

Well, that was an unfortunately short run. M Coast, a band just launched in spring 2006, has this month announced they’re splitting up. The information was leaked in a post by Happy Happy Birthday to Me’s Mike Turner at the E6 Townhall: “M Coast has parted ways and it seems Andy [Gonzales] will either be going by Andy from Denver or
Marshmallow Coast again, while Derek [Almstead], Emily [Growden], and Carlton [Owens] are working on a new band…” Marshmallow Coast was the original recording project of Andy’s, having produced five albums on labels such as Kindercore and Misra, but when he decided to integrate Derek, Emily, and Carlton (as well as Andy’s wife Sara Kirkpatrick, who had previously played on Antistar), the result was a more chimera-like band with Derek and Emily sharing vocal duties. Derek also contributed many songs which he’d been sitting on for years without an outlet (both Derek and Andy were formerly members of of Montreal). The resulting album, Say it in Slang, was released last year by HHBTM to positive reviews, and most recently M Coast played to a very appreciative audience at the 2007 Athens PopFest.

While the reasons for the split are unknown at this time, the end result is that there will be two bands. Derek writes Optical Atlas, “Carlton Owens, Emily Growden and I are going to continue as a band doing my songs under the moniker Faster Circuits. I already had six new songs for a new M Coast record and now have about ten. We will be spending the winter working on the record. I’m working on getting the MySpace page finished; it’s lucky to find a band name that no one has taken already!” I’ll provide more info on Faster Circuits as it comes; and hopefully soon we’ll learn if another Marshmallow Coast record, with Andy and Sara, is on the horizon.

UPDATE: More from Derek, from the Faster Circuits MySpace blog:

So I guess unless some statement is made there will always be conjecture…

M Coast’s split was totally amicable. Andy called me up and expressed that he’d like to do more stripped-down electro-pop, which something he’d been hinting at recently. I had been wrestling with how to combine our new tunes as his are more in that direction while mine are heading into darker psyche territory. It’s sad that it didn’t work out, but bands rarely do! I look at it as an opportunity to do things i’ve never been able to do before. We are all still great friends, and in fact Andy and Sara were both at our Thanksgiving potluck.

That’s good to hear.

UPDATE II: Andy has written in to assure us that a new album of his own is on the way, although he’s still unsure about what name it will go under (see above). But you can hear two new songs at the Andy from Denver MySpace!

MP3: M Coast – Sail Around the World

I hadn’t checked in on Sloan Simpson’s excellent Southern Shelter site for about a week and a half, and what do I miss?  A rare live recording from The New Sound of Numbers, recorded 11/1 at the EARL.  You can download the full set as MP3s or lossless FLAC files here.

Our gallery has been recently updated with album artwork for Black Swan Network, Circulatory System, Elf Power, the Gerbils, Major Organ and the Adding Machine, Marbles, The Music Tapes, Secret Square, The Sunshine Fix, and Von Hemmling.  I hope this becomes an interesting archive as more artwork is added.

The jukebox has also been updated with 11 more songs to our streaming playlist.

The Apples in Stereo track “Holiday Mood” is featured on the new Yep Roc Christmas album, Oh Santa!, now available for ordering or download at the Yep Roc website.  The album features 12 tracks, with the Apples joining Los Straitjackets, Reverend Horton Heat, Marah and others.  You can also stream the album for free.  “Holiday Mood” was made available as a free download last year for those who purchased one of the New Magnetic Wonder “super fan” packages.  (Prior to this Apples version, Robert Schneider recorded another version of the song for the Marbles Christmas single.)